Second woman robbed at gunpoint in Glendale

A 49-year-old Glendale woman was robbed at gunpoint Saturday night as she unloaded groceries from her car just outside her home, police said.

It marked the second time in as many weeks that a woman had been targeted at gunpoint. Police do not believe the two are related at this time, but are warning people to be aware of their surroundings.

In the latest incident, the woman had just parked outside her apartment complex in the 1500 block of East Windsor Road at about 10:34 p.m. and was unloading groceries when a man approached from the behind and placed a gun against her head, police said.

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He threatened to shoot her if she didn’t give him money, snatching a Louis Vuitton purse on her shoulder and two Marshalls shopping bags from inside her trunk.

She didn’t resist and “was in fear for her life,” Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

The woman kept her head down as the man fled the area.

She later told police that she didn’t see him inside her apartment complex and didn’t notice him follow her inside the building.

In the first incident last Tuesday, a 54-year-old Glendale woman was also robbed at gunpoint outside her apartment in the 600 block of East Elk Avenue.

She too had just parked her car at about 11:05 p.m. and was walking to her building when she spotted two men were following her, police said.

One of the men followed her inside the apartment building and snatched her purse after brandishing his gun.

Her purse contained credit cards, a wallet, an identification card, checkbook and an iPhone.

Despite the recent robberies, violent crimes, including robberies, have continued to drop, to 73 for the year through September, compared to 82 during the same period last year, according to the Police Department.

Lorenz blamed the recent violent incidents on the state early release program for nonviolent offenders.

“Over all violent crimes are down, but this is the indication what we expected to see as time goes on and we have to deal with those that are released from prison,” Lorenz said. “We don’t know who this is yet, but more than likely [he] has a history. Overall we are safe, but these random events remind us to be aware of our surroundings.”

The man in the Saturday robbery was described as black, about 6 foot 1 inches tall and with a medium build. He was wearing a black, puffy-hooded jacket, black pants and carried a small black handgun, police said.